Smoke on the controller...
...fire in the lab.
Mike and I were trying to connect an ion gauge controller to the ion gauge in one of the transfer tubes without knowing that the gauge had been damaged during the move. (An ion gauge is a device used to measure pressure once you get below the millitorr range, and the ion gauge controller reads/displays the pressure and can control the pumps to keep the pressure at a set level.)
The gauge we were using was physically shorted out by being smashed together so that the filament and ground were touching the collector grid. At first, when we tried to turn on the gauge, nothing happened. But after trying to light the filament a few times the controller began spewing out the characteristic smoke and odor of burning electronics. Surprisingly, it didn't work after that. Of course, they don't make this piece of equipment anymore, but it's going for about $1000 used, so we're pretty screwed.
We opened it up and used the patented 'sniff test' to figure out where the problem might be.
It seemed to smell the worst in the bottom left corner of the unit, so we pulled that card out and sure enough, there was a big black burn mark beneath the component on the board that smelled the worst. The manual specified the burned out piece as a bridge rectifier, but didn't list the manufacturer. We were never able to find the exact part, but the ECE Storeroom sold one that looked close enough to us (and had the same electronic specifications) for about $2, so we decided to give that a try.
We cut off the offending part and soldered in the new one, heck you can barely even tell what we replaced as long as you don't look closely...or at all really. (The leftmost of the two little black pieces with holes in the middle.)
And much to our surprise, it actually worked!
Of course, we also destroyed a second controller. Lots more smoke came out of that one, and we have no idea what exactly the problem is.
-Tim
Mike and I were trying to connect an ion gauge controller to the ion gauge in one of the transfer tubes without knowing that the gauge had been damaged during the move. (An ion gauge is a device used to measure pressure once you get below the millitorr range, and the ion gauge controller reads/displays the pressure and can control the pumps to keep the pressure at a set level.)
The gauge we were using was physically shorted out by being smashed together so that the filament and ground were touching the collector grid. At first, when we tried to turn on the gauge, nothing happened. But after trying to light the filament a few times the controller began spewing out the characteristic smoke and odor of burning electronics. Surprisingly, it didn't work after that. Of course, they don't make this piece of equipment anymore, but it's going for about $1000 used, so we're pretty screwed.
We opened it up and used the patented 'sniff test' to figure out where the problem might be.
It seemed to smell the worst in the bottom left corner of the unit, so we pulled that card out and sure enough, there was a big black burn mark beneath the component on the board that smelled the worst. The manual specified the burned out piece as a bridge rectifier, but didn't list the manufacturer. We were never able to find the exact part, but the ECE Storeroom sold one that looked close enough to us (and had the same electronic specifications) for about $2, so we decided to give that a try.
We cut off the offending part and soldered in the new one, heck you can barely even tell what we replaced as long as you don't look closely...or at all really. (The leftmost of the two little black pieces with holes in the middle.)
And much to our surprise, it actually worked!
Of course, we also destroyed a second controller. Lots more smoke came out of that one, and we have no idea what exactly the problem is.-Tim
posted by tjmcardl | 9:09 PM
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